Radio control mechanism



May 29, 1951 c. w. D. SCHAEFER RADIO CONTROL MECHANISM 2 Sheets-Sheet l Filed sept. 25, 1948 IN VEN TOR.

May 29, 1951 c. w. D. SCHAEFER RADIO CONTROL MECHANISM Filed Sept. 23, 1948 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR.

Patented May 29, 1951 RADIO CONTROL MECHANISM Carl W. D. Schaefer, Dayton, Ohio, assignor to Philco Corporation, Philadelphia, Pa., a corporation of Pennsylvania Application September'23, 1948, Serial No. 50,866

4 Claims. ((1250-46) The invention hereinafter described and claimed, is concerned with the control of electrical apparatus.

While of broader applicability, the invention has particular relation to the control of radio apparatus, being especially concerned with a novel arrangement for selecting the broadcast frequency to which the circuits of a radio receiver will respond, and for modifying the signals received.

In most present-day radio apparatus, proper adjustment of the receiver requires the separate manipulation of several individual control elements or manuals. As will be understood, such requirement results not only in relatively complicated adjustment procedures-the techniques for which must be 1earned-but, further, tends to increase the mechanical complexity and consequent cost of the apparatus.

The present invention has as its primary objective the provision of novel radio apparatus of such nature that all necessary adjustmentsmay be made in the simplest possible manner, by the manipulation of a single control manual. As will be appreciated, apparatus of such a nature is highly advantageous, particularly for certain classes of service. For example, apparatus of the stated character may be operated by young children, and is well adapted for bed-side use.

A more specific, but equally important objective, resides in the provision of apparatus of the above-stated general character in which the. operating mechanism is, inherently, of extremely inexpensive type, lending itself well to fabrication by mass production methods, and being sus ceptible of ready inspection and repair.

The invention is further characterized in that the required manipulations of the singe control manual are of a type which have become familiar to users of radio receivers incorporating several control manuals and, thus, satisfactory performance is attained with a minimum of concentration on the part of the user.

Another significant feature of the invention arises from the fact that the apparatus lends itself well to novel and attractive design treatment of the cabinet, it also being of importance that most of the elements of the mechanism are of such a type that they may be manufactured by simple stamping operations, rather than requiring the use of costly machining procedures.

Other advantages, and more specific elaboration of the aforesaid objectives and the manner in which they are realized in theembodiment the following disclosure taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure 1 is a view, in perspective, of a radio receiving set embodying apparatus constructed in accordance with the teachings of the present invention;

Figure 2 is an end elevational view of the apparatusshown in Figure 1, the View being on a considerably enlarged scale, and being taken with the end wall of the cabinet removed, to facilitate clarity in illustration;

Figure 3 is a fragmentary, elevational view illustrating the control mechanism of the invention as it would appear when viewed from the front, and disassociated from the cabinet; and,

Figure 4 is an elevational view of a portion of the mechanism. shown in Figure 3, and illustrating said portion in another position of adjustment.

Now making more particular reference to the drawings, it will be seen that the radio receiving set illustrated in Figure 1, and designated generally by the reference numeral Ill, comprises acabinet formed of two cooperating upper and lower sections H and [2, respectively, a grille portion 13 being provided in the upper section Hand disposed in alignment with the speaker, not shown. A single control element, or manual, I4, is mounted within the cabinet in a manner fully described hereinafter, and takes the form of a barrel-like member a portion of which extends outwardly of the cabinet through an opening shown at I5.

It is. to be understood that all the required control functions of the illustrated radio receiver are accomplished through manipulation of the single manual shown at 14; force exerted against said manual-411 one sense-serving to effect one control function, and force exerted against said manualin another sense-being effective to accomplish either or both of two additional control functions. Specifically, and in the embodiment illustrated by way of example, pressure exerted downwardly against the manual l4 causes said manual to be depressed inwardly of said cabinet and effects selection as between a plurality of preselected broadcast frequencies to which the apparatus will respond. Rotation of the control manual effects operation of the onofif switch and/or the volume control, as may be desired. It will be appreciated that simultaneous adjustment of the aforesaid control instrumentalities may readily be accomplished by effecting conjoint manipulation of the control manual in the two senses indicated. Also, in:

the broader aspect, the invention contemplates any desired modification, or rearrangement of the control function effected by either of the stated movements of the control manual.

To achieve the foregoing ends, and now making reference to Figures 2 to 4, there is mounted within the receiver a control shaft 16, suitably journaled in upstanding flanges I! and I8, said shaft carrying a rotary switching device adapted to effect selection, progressively, as between a plurality of pretuned frequency selecting devices, one of which appears at I9, in Figure 2. The aforesaid switchin device is preferably of the wafer type and comprises the two sections illustrated, somewhat diagrammatically, at 2|] and 20a. The control shaft [6 passes through said sections, being mounted with freedom for rotation with respect thereto, and said shaft carries suitable contact means, identified by reference numbers 2| and 22, which contact means are rotated, in'response to rotation of the control shaft I6, and thereby placed in electrically conductive relation with respect to various stationary contacts (not illustrated), carried by said sections 20 and 20a.

Since the present invention is not concerned with the details of the switching device and the pretuned circuit devices, except insofar as such devices cooperate with the novel apparatus of the present invention, and since the construction and general operation of such devices are now well known, more detailed illustration and description thereof are not necessary herein. For a complete understanding of the present invention, it is sufficient to point out that rotation of the control shaft l6 effects similar rotation of the contact elements 2| and 22, and thereby energizes, progressively, a selected one of a plurality of pretuned circuits, through the agency of suitable leads. Preselection of the various broadcast frequencies to which the apparatus will respond may be accomplished through the agency of rotatable elements one of which is identified at 23, in Figure 2. These ele-,

ments extend through the bottom wall of the cabinet and, while only one thereof is illustrated, it will' be understood that a plurality of such elements would be used, each being connected with a corresponding one of the frequency determining devices !9, as by means of shafts of the type shown at 24.

A non-conductive sheet 25 extends vertically within the rear portion of the cabinet In, this sheet being mounted in any convenient manner and being adapted to support a loop antenna, not illustrated.

In particular accordance with the present invention, and to enable operation of the receiver in the novel manner above set forth, there is mounted within cabinet [8 a pivoted support member or lever assembly 26 comprising (see Figures 2 and 3) a pair of horizontal spaced vertically extending metallic flanges 21 and 28, the rear portions of which are pivotally mounted to upstanding fixed supports 29, by means of the downwardly against said manual 14 reacts through the shaft 3| to cause pivotal or swinging movement of the lever assembly, downwardly about the shaft 38. In the embodiment illustrated, such movement of the lever assembly effects selection of the desired broadcast frequency by rotating the control shaft [6 in the manner set forth hereinafter.

In accordance with a feature of the invention, a combined on-oif switch and volume control, represented at 33, is conveniently supported by the lever assembly flange portion 28, being bolted or otherwise suitably secured thereto. Preferably, although not necessarily, the shaft 3| is so drivingly associated with the switch and -volume control 33 that rotation of the control mounting shaft shown at 30. Thus the lever assembly is pivotally mounted, at its rear portion,

ual i4 is carried by and secured to the shaft 3| and, as will now be understood, force exerted curved outer surface of the ratchet tooth with manual [4, to its terminal counter clockwise position as viewed in Figure 2, turns the switch to the ofi position. Initial rotation from this terminal position, and in a clockwise direction, energizes the circuits and continued rotation in the clockwise direction is operative to move the volume control toward higher volume levels.

Turning now to a consideration of the manner in which pivotal reciprocatory movement of the lever assembly 26 is effective to tune the receiver to the broadcast frequency desired, it should be noted (see particularly Figures 3 and 4) that the control shaft It has aiflxed thereto a ratchet-wheel 34. Generally midway of the length of the lever assembly 26, and just behind the plane of the ratchet-wheel, is disposed a vertically extending plate 35 fixedly carried I by the flange II, this plate being provided with a pair of studs 36 and 31 which serve to mount a second, movable plate 38 upon the mounting plate 35. The plate 38 is provided with slots 39 and 40, these slots cooperating with the aforesaid studs to permit movement of the plate 38 from the upper terminal position illustrated in Figure 3 to the lower limiting position shown in Figure 4. Movable plate 38 carries a forwardly extending flange 4| which, in turn, is provided with a horizontally extending upper portion 42 which underlies cross-webbing 43 interconnect-- ing the flanges 2'! and 28 of the lever assembly 26. As will be understood from consideration of Fgures 2 and 3, pivotable movement of the lever assembly in the downward direction causesplate 38 to be moved to the lower position shown in Figure 4, through engagement of the cross- Webbing 43 with the horizontally extending flange 42. A resilient pad 43a is interposed between the cross-webbing and the flange 42, toi cushion these interengaging parts during operation.

Plate 38 has pivotally secured thereto a pawl 44 which is biased, by means of spring 45, toward a clockwise position in engagement with the teeth of ratchet-wheel 34. A second, heavier spring 46 is secured, as at 41, to the mountingplate 35, the lower end of said spring being engaged with a pin 48 upon which the pawl 44 is mounted. As will be understood, spring 46 is effective to urge the movable plate 38, and

the overlying lever assembly, in such direction as to return them to the upper or rest position.

In utilization of the control manual I4, in such manner as to eifect selection between the various broadcast frequencies to which the apparatus will respond, it will now be evident that pressure exerted downwardly against said manual will move the plate 38 in a downward direction, the pawl sliding downward about the which it is in contact. When the position illustrated in Figure 4 has been reached, and the operators hand is removed from the control manual it, plate 38 is returned to the upper position shown in Figure 3, carrying with it the pawl 49. During this return movement, the pawl is engaged with one of the ratchet teeth and therefore moves the ratchet-wheel one step in the clockwise direction. As will be understood without further explanation, such rotation of the ratchet-wheel operatesthrough the agency of shaft 16 and contact elements 2| and 22-to select a predetermined one of the pretuned circuit devices l9. In this manner, and by repeating reciprocations of the control manual l4, step-by-step rotational movements are imparted to the selector switch and the apparatus responds to the preassigned broadcast frequencies, progressively.

In order to indicate the frequency to which the receiver will respond, and in accordance with another feature of the present invention, the outer end of the shaft It carries a wheel member 49 fabricated of transparent material. Sectors of this wheel member are preferably tinted with different colors, and it will be evident that a different sector will occupy the upper, 12 oclock position in correspondence with each of the several stations selected. A light source 59, including a lamp 5| is carried by the lever assembly 26, the light from said lamp being directed through the uppermost sector of the wheel member 49, from which it is conducted to the exterior of the cabinet through a transparent and preferably light-directive member 52. When the apparatus is in use, the exterior surface of the member 52 will be illuminated with light of the color determined by that sector of the wheel member 49 which occupies the upper position. As will be apparent, the fixed angular relation, between the wheel member i9 and the Wafer switch device, results in enabling the operator of the apparatus to identify the station to which the receiver is tuned, by the color appearing at the member 52.

From the foregoing description it will be understood that apparatus constructed in accordance with this invention realizes all of the features and advantages set forth thereinabove and, importantly, that such features and advantages are attained by apparatus which is of the simplest, most compact and inexpensive type.

I claim:

1. In a radio apparatus, a lever assembly comprising a pair of spaced parallel members one end of each of which is mounted for pivotal movement, a rod extending between said members and journaled in adjacent free end portions thereof, a control manual rotatably carried by said rod, volume control means carried by one of said members and connected with said control rod for operation by said manual in response to rotative movement of the latter, and frequency determining means adapted to effect selection as between a plurality of preselected frequencies to which said apparatus will respond, said frequency determining means being disposed in a plane intermediate said members and being linked thereto in such manner that pivotal movement of said members adjusts said frequency determining means and effects the aforesaid selection, said control manual being so disposed between said members that application of force to said control manual in a direction substantially normal to the axis of the rotation of the latter effects pivotal movement of the said lever assembly and consequent adjustment of said frequency determing means, rotation of said control manual serving to effect adjustment of said volume control means.

2. Apparatus in accordance with claim 1, and further characterized in that said frequency determining means comprises a rotatable switching device, and in which apparatus there is included ratchet means providing the stated linkage between said members and. said frequency determining means;

3. In radio apparatus, a casing provided with an aperture in a readily accessible wall portion thereof, a pair of control instrumentalities disposed within said casing and effective to control the response of said apparatus, a control manual comprising a drum-like member lying in said aperture and partially projecting therefrom into a position accessible from the exterior of the casing, a rotatable shaft disposed within said casing and lying parallel to the general plane of said aperture, said control manual being mounted upon said shaft with freedom for rotational movement and for retractive movement inwardly of aid casing, and linkage, including said shaft, so operatively associating said control manual with said control instrumentalities that rotation of said manual efiects adjustment of one of said instrumentalities and movement of said control manual inwardly of said aperture effects adjustment of the other of said instrumentalities.

l. Apparatus in accordance with claim 3, and further characterized by the provision of lever means pivotally mounted Within said casing with a portion thereof underlying said aperture, said shaft being journaled in said portion, whereby force exerted upon said drum-like member in a direction substantially normal to the axis of rotation of said shaft effects pivotal movement of said lever means and the stated retractive movement of said drum-like member inwardly of said casing.

CARL W. D. SCI-IAEFER.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the 

